


he is the one

by themoongirl



Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Sander carrying Robbe to bed.........my whole heart, lots and lots of fluff, sander pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:28:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23479240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themoongirl/pseuds/themoongirl
Summary: Robbe sighed, love drunk. “I’m going to marry you, Sander Driesen.”
Relationships: Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans
Comments: 24
Kudos: 250





	he is the one

“... and the two of you stand here on this beautiful evening and swear to love each other. And it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing isn’t it? You have found it, the thing everyone is looking for. I hope you remember this evening for the rest of your lives, and carry with you the happiness that you feel in your bones.”

Sander hadn’t thought of this day as a big deal. Jens wasn’t his best friend, he was Robbe’s. Jana, too. Robbe had been helping with wedding preparations for the past couple of months being the best man to Jens, occasionally asking Sander for advice on a location for the bachelor party or dragging him to find a suit that fit. And he was excited for the day, sure, he just wasn’t prepared for it to hold as much weight as it did. 

Sander often thought about the concept of marriage. Before Robbe, it was something he always knew he wanted. It was an outdated thought, Sander was sure of it. Marriage is no longer a necessity for a lot of people. Sander knew it wasn’t a necessity for him, but it was something he had always imagined in his life.

And Sander had wanted to marry since he was a little boy, according to his mom. She liked to tease him with a specific story of his childhood. When Sander first came out to her she laughed. Sander had raised an eyebrow at her before she began explaining. When Sander was five he came home from school and told his mom that he met a boy and he was going to marry him one day. Sander’s mom had to stifle her laughter to explain to him that that was perfectly okay, that he could 100% marry any boy he wants, and to never be ashamed of that. Apparently she had been waiting to tell that story for a very long time.

Sander was a romantic. He always had been. When he was young, the yearning for marriage had simply been a morphed feeling. Marriage was love to young Sander. So when he grew up, he realized that he simply wanted exactly that. Love. The right kind. 

Then, of course, came his diagnosis. His entire life changed with one doctor's appointment. Then, a few small relationships in high school that didn’t mean anything, and by the time he found Britt during college he was completely and utterly confused by what love is. 

When he was young love sounded wonderful. He didn't think he would question it, or wonder if the person is right for him, he believed that he would simply know. But he didn’t know. He never knew. Britt didn’t make him feel good, she often told him that he was too sensitive. And he started believing it. And he thought about his first girlfriend named Lotte in high school who sobbed when he forgot her birthday because he wasn’t able to leave bed for a week. He thought about Sven, a boy he dated for a month but who quickly broke up with him because Sander made a mixtape for his birthday and Sven didn't think things were that serious. He started wondering if perhaps he was too intense, and not normal, and he just wanted to be _normal._

Eventually he started believing that he was unloveable. And he didn’t know how to end it with Britt because he thought she understood him better than he understood himself.

Everything changed when he saw him. 

Everything changed when he saw Robbe.

Everything.

It was that feeling he had longed for as a child. The feeling that the person standing in front of you is going to be important. The feeling that sparked a fire in his veins and made him fight for it. 

And then marriage became something else. It became a background thought. Something small and barely visible but there none the less. He didn’t feel a need to rush into it, or worry about it, or ask about it other than that one time in the hotel room. It was simply something that he knew was going to happen, but he was too damn in love and ecstatic about life with Robbe to feel any kind of need to make it happen sooner.

So they moved in together once Robbe graduated high school. A small apartment in Antwerp with one room for Sander’s art studio and the other for their bedroom. They lived there long after Robbe graduated college and they didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. They were viciously happy with the little life they had created with each other. Sander felt he had all he needed. His brain was chaotic on a normal day, and Robbe loved the quiet, and the life they chose to build worked for them. They fit together. They always had. 

So no, Sander hadn’t thought Jens and Jana’s wedding would have a big impact on him until now, as he stared at Robbe standing to the right of Jens along with Moyo and Aaron, the groomsmen. Sander was in the second row of the audience and he wasn’t prepared for the tears that filled his eyes. He cared for Jens, and he was happy for him, sure, but Robbe had his full attention.

“... with each passing year you will grow closer together, drawing strength from one another, and two shall become one.”

Robbe had tears in his eyes too. He slowly let his eyes roam from Jens to find Sander in the crowd.

“You will be blessed with the greatest happiness of life….”

Sander smiled. Robbe smiled back with a look of knowing.

“... To love and be loved.”

-

They had been dancing for an hour as Jens and Jana made their rounds to thank everyone for coming when people began leaving. Robbe and Sander found themselves on the dance floor with a few other couples as “Make You Feel My Love” began playing. Normally it was Robbe dragging Sander to the dance floor for a slow dance, but tonight, it was Sander.

Robbe had his arms wrapped around Sander’s neck and Sander was holding him close. Their faces were inches apart. Robbe was tipsy, his eyelids droopier than normal as he smiled at Sander. Sander’s whole heart was bursting as if it was their wedding night.

“Hey,” Sander spoke quietly, placing a quick peck on Robbe’s forehead.

Robbe closed his eyes as Sander pulled away. “Hey.”

“You know what?” Sander prompted.

“Mmm?” 

“I’m going to marry you.”

Robbe’s eyes opened, his grin getting wider. He didn’t look surprised, as if the words were no more true than Sander’s love for Bowie.

“I know,” Robbe stared into his eyes, tilting his head teasingly. “I’ve known that for years.”

“Oh, did you?” Sander teased. “Damn. Surprise ruined.”

_I've known it from the moment that we met  
No doubt in my mind where you belong  
I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue  
I'd go crawling down the avenue  
No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do  
To make you feel my love_

Robbe sighed, love drunk. “I’m going to marry you, Sander Driesen.”

-

It was a month later and Sander felt every creative impulse stripped from his bones.

Robbe had been asleep one night, half his face smooshed into a pillow and his mouth completely slack. He had fallen asleep while Sander was sat up against the headboard drawing, one arm draped over Sander’s leg. With his sketchbook forgotten in his lap, he was tapping his pencil against his knee impatiently. He stared at Robbe’s peaceful face and tried to imagine what his proposal would look like.

He debated planning a vacation for the sole purpose of proposing. He debated leaving little notes as hints, or taking Robbe back to the seaside where they met, but nothing was sticking. And he was getting nervous because Robbe deserved a proposal that was epic, and grand, and matched the love that Sander felt for him. 

He started sweating, feeling the room becoming too small and his skin too warm. He slowly got out of bed, gently moving Robbe’s arm from his leg, and shut the door quietly behind him, wandering into the kitchen wearing only his underwear. He propped himself up onto the kitchen counter and stared at a point on the wall, hoping to will the perfect idea to come to him.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He looked at the time on the stove and it read 2am. Confused, he took his phone out of his pocket and saw that his mom had shared a link to his Facebook messenger.

He opened the link. It was one of those speed-painting videos of a person painting David Bowie’s Hunky Dory album cover. He went back to the conversation tab.

 **Sander:** you’re still up?

 **Mom:** I watched a scary movie!!! Can’t sleep

Sander smiled at her message. He swung his legs back and forth anxiously, looking around the room. There was something about kitchens at 2am that gave him a strange feeling. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or hated it. Either way, something about it made him hit his mom’s number with his finger and bring the phone to his ear.

Seconds later she was answering.

“Well isn’t this a surprise…”

“Hi mom,” Sander spoke into the phone.

“Hi hun, everything okay?”

Sander couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“I’m…. I’m really happy.”

Sander could practically hear her smiling on the other end of the line. He thought about the times that he had called her and told her the opposite.

“You’ve felt this way for a while, haven’t you?”

Sander closed his eyes, leaning his head against the cupboard behind him. “You know I still have my bad days, but, he’s…” Sander trailed off, wondering if he would ever have the words to describe how he felt for Robbe.

“He’s your Robbe.”

Sander hesitated, wondering if there should be a lead up to saying this kind of thing, but he was suddenly too excited to share the secret that had been resting on his shoulder for a month. Robbe was the one he shared everything with, but of course, Robbe was the only one who couldn’t know. “I’m going to ask him to marry me.”

She let out an excited sound on the other end, and Sander couldn’t help the elated feeling that came over his body.

“Oh my, Sander, this is wonderful….”

Sander covered his face with his hand, feeling his face burning red. “No telling anyone, okay?”

“Okay okay, but you must tell me your plan-”

“Non-existent.”

“-oh, you-”

“-have none,” Sander finished her sentence. “I’ve never been more stumped in my life.”

She let out a loud laugh on the other end. “Oh wow…”

“I could really use some of your famous advice right about now.”

He imagined his mom was looking very pleased with herself at this moment. She took a second, humming in the back of her throat as she formed her thoughts. “Well, honestly, it’s actually very simple, darling. You’ll know when the timing is right. You’ll just feel it. It’s not about grand gestures or a large bouquet of flowers or dramatic music. It’s about him. If you need a spot, think about somewhere that means something to you two. Somewhere that you knew you felt that happiness that you link so closely with him. Wherever popped into your head just now. That’s the place.”

Sander found himself sighing with relief. Everything suddenly seemed just that. Very, very simple. He didn’t respond, basking in the silence and his mom did the same. 

And then Sander was jumping, startled because he could hear rustling in the other room. “Oh, mom I have to go, he’s waking-”

“Have a good night darling, I love you.”

“I love you too. Thank you.”

He was just hanging up when Robbe was quietly opening the door and peaking around the corner. Sander could see him where he was positioned on the counter, and he smiled sheepishly at him. Robbe was also only in his underwear.

Robbe yawned sleepily and walked over, stopping in front of him and placing his hands on Sander’s thighs, tilting his head to look up.

Sander playfully poked his nose. “Why are you up?” He asked softly.

Robbe stretched his neck, still stiff from sleeping. “I was wondering the same about you.”

Sander was still feeling the effects of his conversation with his mom, and the relief that he now knew exactly where he was going to propose. He couldn’t help but stare at Robbe like he was seeing him for the first time, like he had found the cure for all bad things.

“I would ask if you’re feeling okay,” Robbe looked up at him. “But you’re smiling, so I’m assuming that’s a yes.”

Sander chuckled, cupping Robbe’s cheek in his hand and stroking the skin there. “I saw my mom was awake so I gave her a call.”

“How is she?” Robbe asked, deciding to prop himself up on the counter as well and sit beside Sander.

“She’s great,” Sander replied, hitting one of Robbe’s hanging legs with his own. “Although she’s not made for scary movies.”

“Oh god,” Robbe giggled. “Neither am I.”

Sander’s heart always clenched when Robbe giggled. He had a few different laughs. There was the booming, sudden outburst when something caught him off guard. Then there was a low chuckle that didn’t always sound genuine. And then there was what he just did, a giggle that sounded like it was coming straight from his heart and shined in his eyes. It was something Sander never wanted to point out for fear that Robbe would get embarrassed, so he chose to marvel at the sound in silence. It always brought the biggest smile to his face.

“Hey,” Sander had his head leaning against the cupboard with his face turned towards Robbe, and Robbe was during the same. Sander brought his hand up again to hold Robbe’s chin, then he leaned forward to place the gentlest of kisses on his lips. 

“Hi,” Robbe replied, his eyes closed and lips just barely brushing Sander’s.

“You should go back to bed, sleepy,” Sander brushed his nose against Robbe’s delicately.

“Are you?” Robbe asked, his voice just above a whisper.

“Not yet.”

“Mmm, then I’m staying awake.”

Sander kissed him again, lips light as a feather. He knew that was the answer the second he told Robbe to go to bed. Robbe had told him once that he loves being up late at night with Sander, that he hates to sleep when he knows that there is time he could be spending with him. They had been together for over five years now and every second still felt so incredibly important.

So they made popcorn, Sander made himself tea and got out a ginger ale from the fridge for Robbe. The compiled blankets, one for Sander and two for Robbe. Robbe was always cold. They were both in their underwear, and Robbe snuggled under Sander’s arm as Sander put on a movie. 

The sudden comfort in Robbe’s presence had him feeling sleepy a lot sooner than anticipated, so halfway through he glanced down at Robbe’s face and saw he had fallen asleep. Sander turned the TV off and slowly maneuvered Robbe into his arms, to which Robbe let out a sleepy groan as he started waking up.

“Shh,” Sander whispered. “I got you.”

Robbe clung to Sander’s neck as he carried him to their bedroom. Sander gently placed Robbe on his side of the bed and was about to walk around to his side when Robbe grabbed his hand to stop him from moving.

Sander chuckled. “I’m coming, don’t worry.”

Sander climbed into bed and pulled the cover over the two of them. Robbe had opened his eyes halfway to watch that Sander wasn’t leaving. Sander smiled at him and rested his weight on one of his arms to lean over Robbe’s body. He leaned down, brushing Robbe’s hair off of his forehead and placed a kiss onto one of Robbe’s eyelids and then the other. Robbe had a smile on his face when Sander pulled away.

Sander then laid back onto the pillow and Robbe turned to bury his face in Sander’s neck, his other arm draped over Sander’s chest.

Sander then began to whisper sweet nothings, telling Robbe how much he loved him, how important he was to him, that he wasn’t going anywhere. They took turns doing this, depending on the day. Sometimes when Sander felt himself getting bad again he needed to be held as Robbe reassured him until he fell asleep. Other nights, like tonight, it was Sander. Robbe had a difficult relationship with sleep, fully admitting that he slept better knowing Sander was next to him. And Sander noticed how the whispering lulled him to sleep, his words making Robbe let out a sigh of relief and clinging onto Sander tighter before his body went completely lax. 

Sander fell asleep shortly after without a worry in his body.

-

Sander’s heart was beating out of his chest.

Walks had become a very important thing in his life. It had actually been a suggestion by his therapist a few years back when he ranted about a lack of inspiration. Turns out after spending a week in a bed, regaining inspiration indoors is quite difficult. He started making walks part of his routine when he realized the importance of it in regards to his mental health. Robbe loved to walk with him, but sometimes Sander went in the early hours of the morning as the sun was rising and Robbe was still comfy in bed. 

So it wasn’t out of the ordinary that Sander asked Robbe to join him on an evening walk. The sun was setting and the sky was pink as if it was smiling down at them, urging Sander to go on.

He didn’t tell Robbe, but he made sure their course brought them to the tunnel.

Sander smirked when they approached it and Robbe shook his head playfully. “Oh, look where we are.”

Sander squeezed his hand as they stepped through the entrance, too nervous to reply but trying to keep his face neutral.

But then Sander felt it again.

That magical feeling he felt the first time they raced through the tunnel. The feeling that the world was in their hands, that this moment was the only one that mattered. He felt infinite, like the tunnel never ended. 

There was something different about them walking through it, hand in hand. Everything was slower, of course, but the nerves Sander felt were suddenly gone. The echo surrounded them, night and day was irrelevant, and the air felt light. Sander’s chest felt light.

“Hey,” Sander suddenly spoke up. Robbe looked up at him, his face showing a similar feeling of happiness. “I want to take a photo of you.”

Robbe nodded, used to hearing that sentence after the years they had spent together. Just as Sander loved to draw Robbe he also liked to photograph him. He had multiple albums of Robbe doing seemingly mundane tasks but if he looked cute and he made Sander smile, that was enough. 

“Walk forward,” Sander’s hand left Robbe’s and he took a few steps back, smirking. “Go on, with your back to me.”

Robbe walked forward, still showing no signs of knowing that Sander was up to something. What Sander was asking him to do was nothing out of the ordinary. Robbe was always so patient with him.

Sander exhaled and brought the ring out of his pocket. He looked at Robbe’s back for a moment, taking in the moment, in the brown jacket that he still wore, in the hair that stuck out in all directions, in the colour of the skin of his neck. He repeated the phrase minute by minute in his head, not wanting any of this to be forgotten.

And Sander got down on one knee.

“Hey,” Sander spoke up. “Turn around.”

“Turn around?” Robbe asked as he started turning.

Robbe immediately jumped when his eyes found Sander’s. His mouth fell open in shock, his hands shooting up to cover his mouth. 

Sander 's cheeks hurt from how wide he was smiling.

“Sander-” Robbe gaped, frozen. 

His eyes were as wide as they could open, the shock quickly replaced by a happiness that seemed to explode on his face. He took a few steps towards Sander, stopping in front of him and staring at the ring. 

Then, he was falling to his knees in front of Sander. Now, with Robbe face level with Sander’s, Sander could see that he had tears starting to overflow. It was this that made Sander’s eyes finally fill with tears.

“Robbe….” Sander finally spoke as Robbe laughed and cupped Sander’s hands that were holding the ring in his. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes, oh my god,” Robbe said through the tears, reaching up to cup Sander’s face in his hands. “Always… you know, always.”

Robbe couldn’t help himself as he flung himself forward and kissed Sander, knocking the two over so they were laying on the ground. They were both laughing as Sander kissed him back with an energy that said _this is the happiest I have ever been._

When they finally sat back up, breathless from laughing and kissing, Sander held Robbe’s face in his hands and wiped his tears with his thumbs. “You know you’re my everything, right?”

Robbe nodded, sniffing.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you because I never want this happiness to end. You make me so goddamn happy-” 

“I love you so much,” Robbe interrupted, overwhelmed. “So, so much.”

“I love you too,” Sander somehow smiled wider. “Here.” He took the ring out of the box as Robbe reached forward and wiped Sander's tears from his cheeks. Then he held out his finger. Sander slipped the ring onto his wedding finger and placed kisses all over his hand and arm. Robbe flung himself forward once again, pulling Sander close and squeezing. Sander squeezed back. Sander brought a hand up to cup the back of Robbe’s head.

“This is the place that made me feel like myself again, and I know you told me something similar before,” Sander whispered into his ear. “The place that just told me we were going to be okay, even before we had kissed.”

“I felt it too,” Robbe whispered back. “And I’ve felt it every day since.”

Sander pulled away, holding his face again and kissing him passionately. Both of their cheeks were still wet, their noses running, their eyes red. It was messy, and probably humorous to someone who might walk by, but it was them. Robbe and Sander, in the place that jump-started it all, the place that reminded them of when they were younger and curious and everything was new. Something they would carry with them.

“I can’t wait to love you for the rest of my life.”

-

Later that night, Robbe uploaded a photo to Instagram. 

It was a selfie they had taken once they had wiped their tears, although you could tell in the picture that they had both been crying. Sander had his arms wrapped around Robbe, cheek to cheek as Robbe held his hand up to show the ring. Sander marveled at how young he looked in the photo, half his face buried against Robbe’s. 

Sander watched as Robbe called his mom and she forced him to put it on speaker so she could congratulate the two of them. They made plans to meet for lunch with both of their moms the next day.

And after that, they put their phones down in the other room. They popped a bottle of champagne, stripped down to their underwear and celebrated together on the couch. Alone and with the same energy they had the night Sander told his mom he was going to ask Robbe to be his husband.

Because they were already happy. They were already in love and married to the idea of facing life together. Only now, they were putting a name to it. Only now they were going to do it by law.

And Sander realized as he held Robbe close to his chest that this was exactly what love was supposed to be. His younger self would be screaming with joy that he was getting married. But the Sander that had to grow up far too fast, the Sander that had faced his fair share of demons and been through far too much, this Sander had a matured take on what it means to love and be loved. There was now the Sander that had Robbe, the love of his life, the person who made everything lighter and quieter. The Sander who never needed anything more than the right kind of love. 

The world can be an ugly place. It’s easy to stumble into relationships with people who don’t treat you right. It’s actually so, so damn easy to accept a love that crushes you, that makes you lose yourself and tries to fool you into thinking it’s what you deserve. 

When the right person comes around, the one who makes you feel like you again, who tries for you, who doesn’t sweep you off your feet but grabs your hand and promises to go down those paths together, that’s the person you hang onto. Because the path is going to get hard. It’s sometimes going to be ugly, and messy, but you take it on. You take anything on because you have them at your side.

Sander couldn’t wait to call Robbe his husband, but he also couldn’t wait to fall asleep with him in his arms tonight. He couldn’t wait to wake up in the morning and make coffee and plant a kiss on Robbe’s cheek. He couldn’t wait to ask him how his day was, and banter about a funny memory, and sit in silence with him and paint portraits of him. He couldn’t wait to continue their lives that they had been living every day since the moment he saw him spray-painting a truck.

Forever was all he needed.

**Author's Note:**

> hi hi hi
> 
> hope u liked this! i found this oddly emotional to write...... 
> 
> writing tumblr: dearsander  
> main blog: dearrobbe


End file.
